Hot Apple Pie? Yes Please!

All this talk about Thanksgiving has got me Jones-in' for a slice of hot apple pie.  With a little creativity, this clenched tooth girl can do anything!

Hot Applesauce Pie :

1 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp Almond Butter
Micro-wave these two ingredients for 10 seconds and repeat one or two times until the applesauce is warm.  Mine took three ten second intervals.  Stir to incorporate the AB and sauce.
Sprinkle with  cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Amazingly good and simple.

You may wonder why I share all these pureed recipes with you- the ones who can chew.  When this first happened a dear friend sent me five different personal blogs that helped me out a lot as I figured out this whole wired-shut thing.  Here's hoping this post and my other puree recipes find their way into some poor soul's inbox.  Its amazing what good a little unique snack can do for your day when you are in the beginning of the fourth week in chains and have exhausted all your go-to snacks.
Also, the ones I post I feel like I will probably still eat when I am no longer bound because they are so good.  So don't be afraid to try them!
You are welcome!!

In other news, my appointment was today and honestly it made me a little frustrated.  After a wait while I entertained George, the doc bounced in and said, "Oh - you...So when are we doing this?" My only guess is that he meant, when are we taking the wires off.  Once I realized this I said, "Well, I thought next Monday".  So he calls the nurse in and says "schedule her for hardware removal".  On the way out the door he must have sensed my frustration because he put on a glove and felt the outside of my jaw.  "How does that feel?  Good, you are going to be fine.  Bone's healing great".  This all took about 90 seconds.  I didn't even get a chance to tell him I had been in a lot of pain the past week.  Then the nurse told me she would call me and tell me when the surgery to remove hardware would be.  She has to check insurance.  Two minutes total, if that.  I got myself and my kiddo dressed and prepared for two minutes of nothing.  We could have totally done this over the phone.  (The one redeeming factor is that the office is located very near one of my favorite coffee shops so I got a mocha to go)  So- I get it , I understand, medicine is not what it should be, but I am a little frustrated because I want to know exactly when these things will be removed.  Don't we always want to know exactly when and where? Lord, help me be a patient patient.  Help me trust that you have this too in your sovereign hands.  Help me not to take this out on docs and nurses, it is not their fault this happened to me.  Give me mercy and give me grace.  And give me more ideas about pureed food so I can distract myself until this nurse calls me back. :)
Friends, pray for me as I try my hardest to be patient, understanding, and flexible.  And pray that these wires will be removed sooner rather than later!

Another Perfect Fall Soup

Here's another soup recipe for your weekend.  This one was found for another "wired shut" mouth and sent to me by a dear friend back in North Carolina.  Thanks MRH!!

curried butternut & apple soup

Serves 8-10 as a first course, 4-6 as a meal

Soup:

1 large or 2 small butternut squash, halved vertically

2 T butter

1 T olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 T curry powder

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1 quart vegetable or chicken stock, divided

½ cup sour cream or 4 oz goat cheese

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Croutons:

1 medium loaf sourdough bread, ends and toughest parts of crust cut off, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/3 cup olive oil

1 ½ t kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400.  Place squash, cut side down, in a shallow baking dish.  Add water to measure about ½ inch deep.  Bake until squash is very soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Cool slightly, then scoop out seeds and discard.  Scoop flesh from skin into a bowl and coarsely mash.  Set aside.  (Note:  this soup can also be made with previously prepared squash, which makes it a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers.)

While squash is baking, prepare croutons.  Place bread cubes in gallon ziplock bag (you should have enough so that the bag is about ¾ full).  Drizzle oil over and sprinkle with salt.  Seal bag and shake to coat bread with oil.  Spread bread on a large, rimmed baking sheet.  When squash is removed from oven, place croutons in oven at 400, and bake 10-15 minutes, until golden brown, turning once in the middle of baking.

To make soup, heat a large pot over medium heat.  Melt butter with 1 T olive oil.  Add onions, curry powder, and apples, and sauté until onions are translucent and apples are soft, about 15 minutes.  Add mashed squash; stir to combine.  Stir in about 3 cups of stock, bring to a boil, and simmer about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Puree with a hand blender, or in batches in a blender or food processor.  Return to pan over very low heat, and whisk in sour cream.  If soup is too thick, thin with more stock.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve soup warm with croutons.

 I, of course, was not able to make the croutons but I loved this soup anyway and had it for my lunch today.  To the curry I added turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and cumin.  I also added a stalk of celery and fresh garlic to the onion and apple mixture.  I used 4 cups of veggie broth and had to add more water at the end so I could drink it, but thats just because my teeth are so dang close together.  If you like it thick and you can use your mouth and a spoon the way God intended, follow the recipe.  The hand immersion blender and I have become very close companions this week.  

'Tis the Season for Soup

I thought of another thing I am thankful for....I am thankful that this accident happened during "soup season" because that is all I can eat.  I cannot imagine how I would feel about the consumption of hot tomato soup in the middle of the summer but it sure does hit the spot on these cool fall nights.  I mentioned my mom made me four types of soup.  I gave her my favorite recipe cards and she made them happen with additions and substitutions of her own.  She made my favorite-favorite Spinach Soup.  She made Brocolli-Cheddar soup (which, honestly I rarely indulge in because its not the healthiest for you).  She made Potato-Leek Soup and Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup.  The only recipe I can give you is the one for Spinach Soup. For the others, she did her "thing" and mixed and matched several recipe cards with her own knowledge of how to put something absolutely scrumptious together.  And they were all absolutely scrumptious.

Becca's Favorite Favorite Spinach Soup
EVOO
2 garlic cloves
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 stalk celery
1 medium potato peeled and cubed
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
2 cups milk
1 - 6oz bag of fresh spinach

Heat EVOO in large saucepan.  Sauté garlic, onion, celery and potato for 5 minutes.
Add chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in half the spinach, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.  Cool slightly, then transfer soup to blender WORKING IN BATCHES. (DO NOT- under any circumstances- think you can put all this soup in one blender. Just trust me on this one unless you want to change the paint color in your kitchen, ceilings etc. to seaweed green).  Or if you are a lucky duck and have a hand immersion blender, use that.  Add remaining spinach and blend until smooth. I always add red pepper flakes at the end - just a little, you can ALWAYS add more but you can never take spice out.  SO SO GOOD!


Today I tried my hand at a soup recipe I've had my eye on since before my jaw was broken and it does not disappoint!  In fact at this moment I have a mug of it's excellency on my nightside table.  If I did not need it pureed, I would have left it chunky but it is packed with flavor so I do not miss the texture quite as much.   The recipe below happens to be from Slimming Eats.  I added some "non-slimming" ingredients to get more fat and calories in.  Either way, its delicious.

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup

Author: Slimming Eats

Serves 4

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (175ml) of uncooked red lentils, rinsed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 300g of sweet potato, chopped (like 2 or 3)
• some freshly ginger grated
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 splash of tabasco sauce
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 500g of ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped finely (or use a tinned chopped) ( I used one HUGE can of whole Romas since I knew I would puree)
• 2 litres of vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp of tomato puree ( I did not use because I put whole can of tomatoes and included juice)
• salt and black pepper to season
• low calorie spray
• fat free natural yoghurt and fresh parsley to serve

Instructions

1. Spray a large saucepan over a medium high heat with low calorie spray. Add the onion, leek, celery and fry until softened.
2. Add the lentils, sweet potato, garlic, ginger, cumin, paprika, cayenne and tomato paste and stir to evenly mix.
3. Add the stock, tomatoes and tabasco sauce. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 40mins until lentils are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. If you prefer a smoother soup, then you can blend it to your liking. I prefer to leave this soup as it is. (I ended up adding water and soy milk to make it thin enough for me to drink)
5. Serve topped with a spoonful of fat free natural yoghurt and some chopped fresh parsley.

I added 5 oz chèvre, soy milk, and extra sweet potatoes.  I deleted some of the spice because whereas I usually enjoy spicy foods, it burns too much with the way the wires have treated my gums, lips and teeth.  I hope you will try this soup. Its amazing.  I used a hand immersion blender that a friend let me borrow (Thanks LC!!). I added the goat cheese and extra water at the end to make it thin enough to drink and it worked great!


Today was my first Post-Op appointment and my first day home alone with George since all this happened.  I asked a friend to watch George while I went to the appointment and she was happy to do it since our kiddos are great friends.  You might remember her from a previous post- her dad is the one with the motorcycle!  The appointment went well and the doctor said most likely these wires will come off November 25th.  Yes, that is three days before Thanksgiving so hopefully I will at least be able to eat some mashed potatoes.  Not sure if I will be able to open wide enough for a Turkey leg by then- we'll see.  He said it will be an outpatient surgery so I will undergo anesthesia and need a ride to and from the office.  So unless any of you want to come take me to the doctor that day George will have to take off another day of work.  I sure hope they don't fire him!! Only joking, I am sure they will understand and we will be able to work it out.  The appointment was quick, easy to find and uneventful- all that I hoped it would be.  George had a wonderful time with his friend and we came home. He did whine and cry for some reason today until I put him in front of the iPad.  I believe I will count on that tool for a successful week alone with him under these circumstances.  Thank goodness for technology.
Now he is asleep and I may not wake him up until George gets home.  I am sure I will get the energy I need because of this promise:

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." (Jer.31:25)